The then 45-year-old had amassed 21 trophies, between Barcelona - the club of his playing days - and Bayern Munich, in eight years as a coach.
In the five years since they lured the Spaniard to north-western England, City have collected 10 pieces of silverware, including three Premier League titles.
On Saturday night in Porto, Champions League treasure could be added to the haul. Chelsea stand in their way.
Favourites
City go into the showdown as favourites. They finished as 2021 Premier League champions, 19 points ahead of the west Londoners who ended the season in fourth place.
Chelsea, though, will go into the clash at the Estadio do Dragao with a tad of confidence. They beat City 1-0 in the semi-final of the FA Cup on 17 April and 2-1 in the Premier League on 8 May.
But Chelsea did go on to lose the Cup Final to Leicester City on 15 May and were beaten by Arsenal and Aston Villa in two of their last three games of the Premier League season.
However, when it comes to Champions League pedigree, Chelsea have the slight edge. They were beaten finalists in 2008 but four years later became the first club from London to win the title following a penalty shoot-out victory over Bayern Munich.
Ambitions
City have never been in the final of European club football's most prestigious competition. But Guardiola has - as a player and coach.
Guardiola tasted Champions League glory with Barcelona in 2009 and 2011. His Chelsea counterpart, Thomas Tuchel, was at the helm of Paris Saint-Germain when the Parisians lost to Bayern in the 2020 final.
“Of course we learn lessons from defeats,” said Tuchel on the eve of the final.
But the 47-year-old German stressed that last season’s competition - knockout games from the last eight onwards due to the coronavirus pandemic - altered the timbre of the tournament.
This year there have been home and away ties since the last-16. Chelsea have seen off Porto in the quarters and Real Madrid in the semis to reach the final.
“We worked hard to be here but we’re not happy yet,” added Tuchel who took over from Frank Lampard in January.
Competition
“We aren’t overexcited. We want to be overexcited after the match. We want to do the last step and we want to win the trophy.”
City skipper Fernandinho described the gap between the clubs in the Premier League as irrelevant on Saturday night.
“It’s a different competition and game,” said the 36-year-old Brazilian. “Every game has its own history. The Premier League has gone already. We celebrated and this will be a different game.”
Should City lift the title, Guardiola’s third crown will place him alongside Bob Paisley, Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane as the most successful coach in the 66-year-history of the competition since its inception as the European Cup.
“I know exactly the way we want to play,” said Guardiola. “And with who we’re going to play. It’s an incredible experience to be here. I know exactly what I’m going to tell them ... the guys who are anxious and nervous, I will tell them that’s normal.”
City are so star-studded, defeat will be regarded as horribly abnormal. To avoid that fate, said Guardiola, there are simple remedies: work and unity.
“We suffered against PSG in the semis and against Dortmund in the last eight but we stuck together," he said.
“During the final we will not have 90 minutes of one side dominating. We are going to suffer but when we get momentum we will have to use it.”
